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The Art of Selling: 1941

July 1941. "Detroit, Michigan. Head of the art department at the Crowley-Milner department store." Which for the better part of the 20th century occupied this building. Photo by Arthur Siegel, Office of War Information. View full size.

Average monthly rent in New York in 1941 was $39--the same price as that portable radio. Just goes to show you that what's true today was true in 1941--when some cool new tech gadget is invented, just wait a about 5 years and you'll pay 75% less for it than you would when it was first introduced.

It also is amazing how far and fast technology has come. Imagine paying the equivalent of $2,000 in 1941 dollars for something you can buy today at Wal-mart for ten bucks.

The photos under the desk glass show us a child (girl?) on a pony and four well-behaved dogs, the woodwork behind the man's head is nicely done (anybody recognize the insignia to the right of the deer?), and the memo on his desk reads:
--
TO Mr. Heidt (Reidt?) DATE July 7, (obscured)

We are opening (obscured) department in our Toilet Goods on August 4th. We (obscured) Large Country Cupboard display as a special courtesy from (obscured) material presents a very fine opportunity for an (obscured) window. We hope you will be able to arrange a (obscured) a grand opening on this date.
--
And finally, the other large advertisement on the desk - Keds (US Rubber), Big Deeds Are Often Born In Dreams.

It's a General Electric Self-Charging Portable, just like in the ad copy he's reviewing. I don't know what the radio sells for now if you can find one, but I've seen eBay prices for the ad of between $10 and $20.

Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo blog featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1950s. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.